"26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt 10:26-28)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Does Not Even Nature Itself Teach You…

Does Not Even Nature Itself Teach You…

This
section will be a journey for me to write because I am going to attempt to
communicate some “soulish” intuitions about the nature of the man’s authority
over the woman in human words. I may end up not including this section in my
book if it is not written coherently, but I pray that Lord-willing you and I will
learn something from this. In the past year I have been trying to understand
the authority of a man over a woman as described in Paul’s instructions to the
Corinthian church about the necessity for women to wear head coverings. In Paul’s instructions he conveyed that
Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of woman, and God is
the head of Christ. The head covering is a symbol of authority on the woman’s
head. Paul asks, “Does not even nature
itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a
woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her as a
covering” For a woman to pray or prophesy with her head uncovered is a
disgrace. And for a man to cover his head is a disgrace. For man is the
image and glory of God; and woman is the glory of man. Man does not originate
from woman, but woman from man. Man was not created for the woman’s sake, but
woman for the man’s sake. However, in the Lord, neither man nor woman is
independent from one another. (see 1 Cor 11:1-16) God created woman from the
man’s rib as a helper suitable for him. The man said that she was now bone of
his bones and flesh of his flesh because she was taken out of him. And for this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife, and they
shall become one flesh. (Gen 2:20-23) Thus, there are innate God-ordained
differences between men and women:

1.The woman is the glory of man.

2.The woman originates from man [was taken
out of him] and becomes one with him.

3.The woman was created for man’s sake, to be
a suitable helper.

I have
had a list of FAQs about these things for several years and I am going to write
a summary of my journey of understanding what little I have come to understand.
These FAQs included “Which man am I the
glory of?”, “Which man was I created
for the sake of?”, “Which man am I a
suitable helper for?”, “Do these
items apply to myself with regard to all men, all Christian men, Christian
authority figures who are men, or only my father/husband?”, “How do these things apply to me in my
singleness?”, “What exactly is
authority?”, “What are the implications
of oneness in flesh?”…and many others.

I must
admit that the culture of my upbringing does not seem to have benefited me in
any way to understand the natural order that God has created. Dad and mom would
have been a good example to me had I understood the true relationship between
them. Dad and mom’s relationship could be described this way: mom pretends like
she is the boss, but really dad is the boss and they both know it. I only
realized this in the past few years, and thus most of my childhood, I was never
taught and rarely, if ever, saw the God-ordained order of authority between men
and woman displayed. But when I read the 1 Cor 11 and Gen 2 passage, I had
realized that there is something very Spiritual and natural going on here
between men and women. And yet our wicked culture has so quenched this
ordination that we have altogether lost our understanding of it. I have needed
the Spirit and Word to restore this lost understanding of the natural and
Spiritual differences between men and women.

Firstly,
I will explain my present conviction about woman’s head coverings. I went
through I period of time [about 2 years ago] when I covered my head during
church. I did this in faith, having felt confused and uneasy whenever I read
the 1 Cor 11 passage. I had no clue if God truly wanted me to cover my head, but I did so in faith. The passage said that
women should cover the heads and I decided to obey. The first Sunday that I did
so was very informative. God gave me comfort in my fear of the opinions of
others, and I felt a kind of protection that I had never felt before. I felt
that my soul was covered by the life of Christ. Of course, this had been true
since I put my faith in Him, but I felt it in greater degree. In fact, though I
expected to feel more honor and respect for my earthly father, the greater
effect was an increased knowledge of Christ’s covering over me. The covering
seemed to remove all subtleties of sensuality, pride, and, surprisingly, insecurity.
I do not know how to explain this well enough. The Sundays after that first
Sunday were not so inspirational and I eventually settled into a mode where my
head covering made no difference whatsoever to my heart’s attitude as it had
the first Sunday. I realized that I had been given an introduction to the
nature of authority. Eventually I stopped wearing a head covering and I no
longer felt guilty not to do so, though that does not make me faultless. The
Lord is my Judge and Savior. I was informed that in the Corinthian church culture,
most noble women would cover their heads, always, not only in church. Whereas,
the prostitutes of the time, who were not under the authority of a husband,
father, or any other Godly man, would not cover their heads. Thus, for a woman
not to cover her head indicated that she was wanton, rebellious, sensual, brazen,
and forsaking of Godly authority. Thus, both the good and bad angels, who lack
omniscience, could see the outward manifestation of a woman’s heart by her
action of covering or not covering her head. I heard some present-day men of
God explain that the application of head coverings for the present day would be
for a woman not to dress in the same way as the worldly women of the present day,
but rather in a way that shows that she is in submission to Christ and Godlyauthorities.
So though the prostitutes and magazine-cover women wear sensual clothing, I
ought to be set-apart in purity and chastity in the way that I dress. My
present conviction is that I ought to dress in a way that honors God and shows
myself as set-apart from the culture of the day, in a way that shows I am in
submission to God and my father, and not looking for inordinate affairs with
wrong types of people. If God truly wants
me to cover my head, I pray that He brings me to the point of conviction again…

So my
inward grappling with the ideals behind head coverings introduced me to these
Spiritual mysteries of the God-ordained structure between men and women.
Another event that happened was when Anand told me something very
heart-breaking last year, and I thank him, because the hurt of it has healed
with the Truth that I learned thereafter in my pursuit of comfort. He said, “Not many men are going to be able to lead
you” and it stung greatly. I replied earnestly, “What do you mean? Why? What is wrong with me?” He replied that a
man has to be extremely Godly to lead me. I initially started to comfort myself
with the thought that I really was not as Godly as Anand thought and that he
had not really seen my bad side completely. I also questioned what exactly a
man needed to be able to lead me. Did he have to be much more intelligent than
me? Did he have to have more knowledge of the Bible than me? Did he have to
have a deeper prayer life than men? Did he have to simply be 20 years older or
2 feet taller than me so that there was no way I could threaten his authority? Did
he have to just be approved of by dad and Anand? Did he have to be extremely
strong in the areas where my flesh is weak? LORD, WHAT DOES A MAN NEED IN
ORDER TO LEAD ME??? After Anand made this comment, I asked dad whether he
thought that there were men who could lead me. His response was even more strange,
“Yes, there are probably some men out
there, but they would have to be very humble and desire only to build God’s
Kingdom”. So then, again, I started questioning, “Does the man need to have a greater desire for God’s Kingdom’s advance
than me to lead me?” and “Why would
humility help a man lead me?”

My first glimmer of hope came from The Story
of Ian and Larissa, for which I am very grateful to God. Ian underwent a
serious accident during their “courtship” and was put in a wheel-chair, unable
to work, have children, speak properly, and other disabilities”. Larissa chose
to marry him. She sacrificed her life to take care of him and to show him love
and respect as his wife. The one thing that caused me to understand more about
what a man needs in order to lead a woman was her sharing about how her husband
led her. She gave an example in which Ian would just barely, with great
struggle, be able to mumble the words, “God
is good”, and Larissa would be led by these words and her soul would follow
his lead for the day by his statement. Larissa was choosing to be led by Ian
who could not work, elaborately teach or speak, give her children, physically
comfort, or do most of the things which young women dream of their husbands
doing for them. And yet, she wholeheartedly was led by him. What did Ian have
that he could lead Larissa? What did Larissa have that she could be led by him?
I realized that Ian had exactly what he needed: he had the anointing of the
Spirit, faith, and the love of Christ. Larissa had exactly what she needed: humility,
purity, faithfulness, servant-hood, and respect. She clearly understood the
Biblical premise that she was made for her husband and sacrificed many earthly
comforts to fulfill God’s calling in her life. She notes that God gave her a
supernatural joy and peace in the midst of her sacrifice. She likely feels very blessed by Ian and does not
consider herself as having made a sacrifice.Their testimony has
encouraged numerous saints throughout the world to truly seek God to use their
marriages to display the eternal Covenant between Christ and the church.

There were several other questions I had when I felt anointed by the
Spirit to write letters to the saints that I know. I knew that women were not
to speak in the church or to authoritatively teach men and that positions of
authority such as pastor and eldership were to be granted to men alone. Unlike
some other women who felt threatened by these church ordinances, I felt
protected by them. I felt extremely uncomfortable trying to imagine myself
being a leader/teacher in the church over men [sorry, but I sometimes could not
help but imagine every possible scenario of a given train of thought]. It felt
like blaspheme to my soul to think of assuming any authority over any man, even
young men. I attribute this feeling to the ordinate desires granted to me in my
regenerated spirit. The flesh must be crucified continually in order to walk
according to the desires of the regenerated spirit. I currently have much peace
in writing letters, knowing that I assume no authority over men, and that I am
under Christ’s and my earthly father’s authority. And if I speak Truth from the
Scriptures, God in His authority uses
His Word with His own power in the hearts of His people. It appears that the
Godly men who are very secure in their God-given manhood, are most willing to
be encouraged by a sister in Christ with no fear, because they understand my
soul, and do not view me as an authoritative teacher, but as a dear sister who
is sharing her testimony of her heart/minds interaction with the Word for the
encouragement of the saints. My conscience is clear, because I have assumed no
authority over men, and Lord willing, I write in agape and humility. I thought
back to the state of my soul in the presence of men over the years. I realized
that whenever I had been in the presence of a man, my soul subconsciously went
under the headship of some of them. It was not something I consciously
decided to have happen, but if I was in the presence of men, especially
Christian men who had the Spirit of God indwelling them, my soul somehow
yielded itself in respect. My voice and demeanor became more respectful,
quieter, and gentle. Even if I was sharing a testimony of something God was
teaching me [“praying and prophesying”], if men were present, my physical being
subjected itself to my soul’s submission to any Spiritual male heads present.
Whereas, I noticed that when I was with only women and children, I became more
authoritative and outspoken, and assumed more responsibility. Sadly, there were
probably some instances in my earlier life as a teenager when my soul was
wrongly seduced to respect men that I ought to have avoided and I was quite
uncomfortable and “lost” in doing so. Any yokes apart from Christ and His
ordained yokes are cruel masters. I realize now that every inordinate
affair in a woman’s heart originates from the inordinate subjection of her soul
to the wrong authority. Though in some sense, coarse sensuality in a woman
defies the authority of all men and she seeks to usurp her role as a woman by
her wantonness. Eventually, I learned that not only did a man need the Lord’s
anointing [the clear, humble, and loving heart of faith] to lead me, but God
had given me a natural inclination to follow the man. These inclinations of
Godly men to lead and of Godly women to follow are items which are manifested
in the heavenly realms. The nature of such authority and submission
structure is instituted by God in the heavenly realms, being manifested in our
physical behavior. This structure does not depend on and does not even
necessarily involve the physical talents of either man or woman. Thus, a woman
like Larissa who is physically stronger, smarter, and more “able” in an earthly
sense at just about everything than Ian, can submit to, honor, respect, and
follow her husband. And Ian can truly lead Larissa with a clear conscience and
a strong bold authority with no qualms about his physical weaknesses. Why?
Because this authority structure is ordained by God and it remains. “Whenall things are subjected to Him, then the Son
Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so
thatGod may be all in
all (1 Cor 15:28)”

My understanding was confirmed by some
words from a sermon by Paul Washer, “Recovering Biblical Womanhood”.
He explains [min 10-12] that though a woman is able to be fulfilled and
sustained in all ways by Christ, she was also made to be Spiritually led by
Godly men. I have realized that if I am walking by faith, my soul immediately
and faithfully resorts under the headship of God-ordained authorities: always
my parents, and other Godly men such as Anand. However, the saints throughout
the world are living in a day when most men are not taking responsibility to
abide in the Word; this has greatly limited the pool of Godly men to which
Godly women ought to submit
themselves to [of course, we must show proper respect to all men].

Just as there is a Spiritual order of headship between man and woman,
there is also a type of authority that is granted to the elderly. A gray hair
is a crown of glory (Prov 16:31) and the Israelites were commanded to rise up
before the gray headed, to honor the aged, and to revere their Lord and God
(Lev 19:32). One reason why the elderly are to be given respect, is that there
is a general tendency for older men to have more wisdom and experience. For
foolishness is bound in a child’s heart, but wisdom and understanding accompanies
ages men and a long life (Job 12:12). We remember the example of King Rehoboam
who was given good advice by his elders, yet, he rejected his counsel and
listened to the evil younger men’s counsel (1 Chron 10). Peter told the younger
men to be subject to their elders and to clothe themselves with humility
towards one another (1 Peter 5:5). Paul told Timothy not to sharply rebuke and
older man, but to rather appeal to him as a father (1 Tim 5:1). However, there
is something that seems to surpass the authority of age itself, and that is the
subjection of the soul of a man to Christ. As King David says, “I understand more than the aged, because I
have observed Your precepts (Ps 119:100)”. Similarly, Paul told Timothy not to let anyone
look down on his youthfulness, but to show himself as an example to the
believers in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity (1 Tim 4:12). When a
man is walking by the Spirit, regardless of his age or physical talent, Godly
authority is bestowed to him. Another example of this is God’s sovereign
election of Jacob over Esau. God told Rebekah that the older would serve the
younger (Rom 9:12).

Finally, there is something about the nature of a man and woman’s
oneness in flesh that is in stark contrast to what the world teaches us about
the relationship between men and women. For in secular media, our society and
our children are constantly taught that the love of a man for a woman is
conditional. She must be irresistibly beautiful all the time, a wonder woman,
money-making, interior decorating, cuisine artist, socially adept, perfect
mother….in order to be loved by her husband. Somehow, the world teaches us that
women who are not beautiful, physically talented, or capable are not worthy of
unconditional love. The beautiful irresistible damsel in distress is rescued,
saved, and sacrificed for…but the rest of the real damsels in the world who are
not beautiful or “worthy” are left in the pit of destruction. Do we see how
utterly contradictory this is to the nature of our Christ for His bride. While
we were still sinners, in horrifying distortion of Spiritual beauty, He
demonstrated His love to give Himself for us. He calls us a part of Himself. Each
one is apt to love and take care of himself, whether or not he thinks himself
to be worthy. Similarly, for a man to consider his wife to be one flesh with
himself, he shows her unconditional love, whether or not she is worthy. Here in
this love, she is filled with deep respect for him, and in her deep respect,
his heart is filled with tender response….you know how this goes J. There is a general
tenderness that all Godly men are to have for all Godly woman as Paul tells
Timothy to treat the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters,
in all purity (1 Tim 5:2).

I could go on and on but will
stop here. I am still in the process of understanding these things which once
upon a time, were understood in the hearts of many, but in our ungodly and crooked
generation, are like buried treasure, that only the Spirit and Word can revive
in our hearts and minds.

About Me

In the Scriptures the Shepherd’s eternal Covenant is a cutting out of His people from all that is devoted to destruction as they approach Him through His flesh and by His blood, a passing through of God’s presence among His people just as the smoking oven and flaming torch passed through the torn pieces of flesh that Abraham offered (Gen 15:12-16), the binding or marriage of two parties, that is, the reconciliation of Christ and His church, and the creation of a new kingdom and people, whose souls are perfected. We were dead in trespasses and sins, just as Abraham fell into a deep sleep and great terror and darkness came upon him, and God has established His Covenant by the strength of His own righteous arm (Eph 2:1, Gen 15:12).